1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dental implant for mounting an artificial tooth on an alveolar bone, and more particularly to an improvement in the body of such a dental implant.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Dental implants are available in various types and forms. One of such various implant types is known as a blade type implant having a blade-like body and was invented by L. I. Linkow. The other dental implant types, which followed the blade type implant, include a rod-shaped core bent type implant, an I.T.I. hollow cylinder type implant, and a wavy type implant. One wavy type dental implant is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,847 filed by the applicant of the present application. These prior dental implants have different configurations. Basically, however, each of the known dental implants comprises a body and a head supported on the body. After the body is embedded and fixedly mounted in a groove defined in an alveolar bone, an artificial tooth is capped over the head.
With the blade type dental implant, the head is supported on the body in the form of a planar blade. In order to make the implant strong and secure when the body is embedded in an alveolar bone, the blade must have a considerable length. Therefore, a relatively long groove for receiving the blade must be defined in the alveolar bone. As a result, a relatively time-consuming and complex operation is required on the user even when mounting a single artificial tooth.
When a rod-shaped core bent type dental implant or an I.T.I. hollow cylinder type dental implant is used, its body can be embedded in an alveolar bone without forming a considerably large groove in the bone. However, the body cannot sufficiently be fixed in place during an initial phase of the embedding process. Since any opening defined in the body is small, the alveolar bone which grows after the body has been embedded cannot securely be joined together through the opening in the body, and hence the body is not anchored firmly in place. Consequently, an artificial tooth mounted on the head is not sufficiently resistant to lateral pressures produced when upper and lower teeth of the user are pressed against each other. The artificial tooth is therefore apt to fail to withstand use over a long period of time.
According to the conventional dental implants, as described above, the structures of the bodies cause various disadvantages especially when only one artificial tooth is mounted.